


Silence in the Library

by KittyKathryn



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-24 05:25:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13804359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKathryn/pseuds/KittyKathryn
Summary: A parasite had invaded Laurent’s library. A rather large and muscular parasite who had a smile like sunshine. He had appeared out of nowhere, staked a claim much too close to Laurent’s desk, and somehow decided it was okay to stare at Laurent. Laurent didn’t like attention, thank you very much, and this man was acting like he was watching a one-man show on Broadway. It was heinous, and Laurent would not stand for it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there!  
> This is my first Captive Prince work, but I hope you like it! Feel free to leave kudos and comments if you enjoy it :) All feedback is appreciated.

Damen wasn’t typically someone who wished to spend his evenings in the library. However, medical school was a bitch, and sometimes he grew tired of studying in coffee shops. Rather than studying in his bland bedroom, he had decided to try out the local library. It was a quiet place that had a surprisingly relaxing air to it. Damen had decided that the scent of books was something he rather enjoyed. Maybe he would gain a habit of buying books for his room, if only to replicate the smell.  
He had been visiting the library for the past nights and had already found his preferred space- a table in a calm corner of the building, not too far from the front desk. Of course, Damen had picked the table for its ambience and how closed off from hustle and bustle it was. He absolutely had not chosen it for its view of the front desk and the blond haired man who worked at it. Absolutely not. Damen was a scholar, not a creep.  
However, he couldn’t help noticing that the man had a rather nice face behind the large glasses. Also, he had simply observed that the man had trouble containing his facial expressions as he read his book. He usually wrinkled the skin between his eyebrows in focus as he read, but occasionally his brows would shoot up in shock. The librarian’s lips had a habit of turning up into a smile at times.  
Once, Damen had startled at the sound of a gasp from the man. Curious, Damen looked up to see him blushing furiously. The man glanced at Damen, only to find him already looking. Damen was grinning, and the librarian scowled, however he couldn’t hide the flush spreading to the tips of his ears. He whipped his head back to his book, and Damen leisurely watched him for a few moments longer before returning to studying. It was the first moment the blond librarian had acknowledged Damen’s existence, and he felt rather proud of it.

 

A parasite had invaded Laurent’s library. A rather large and muscular parasite who had a smile like sunshine. He had appeared out of nowhere, staked a claim much too close to Laurent’s desk, and somehow decided it was okay to stare at Laurent. Laurent didn’t like attention, thank you very much, and this man was acting like he was watching a one-man show on Broadway. It was heinous, and Laurent would not stand for it.  
The day Laurent had gasped while reading and saw the man grinning at him like a hyena was the last straw. Laurent did not enjoy attention, but he was not afraid of confrontation. In fact, he lived for it. He hatched a plan, and he couldn’t help but laugh evilly at the thought of it.  
The next day, Laurent waited until just after six, when, like clockwork, the large man appeared with his textbooks. He glanced at Laurent with a smile as he passed, and Laurent’s blood boiled. He observed the man as he sat at his table. His hair was curly and dangled over his forehead. Laurent could picture his fingers running through the dark curls. His skin and eyes were similar shades of light brown, and Laurent couldn’t help but notice the muscles that flexed in his arm as he set up his books. Of course, similar muscles could be seen from under his fitting shirt, and Laurent willed his eyes away from them, right up into the light brown eyes of the man he was admiring. Of course, he had noticed Laurent watching him, and he willed away the blush he knew was pinking his white cheeks.  
He scowled at the man, but it didn’t seem to deter him. Being caught watching the muscles move under the man’s shirt wasn’t quite a part of his plan, but he refused to give up the rest of it. Instead of giving into the blush those eyes caused and looking away, Laurent steadily looked at him. One of the man’s eyebrows rose in question, and Laurent mimicked him.  
Instead of the man squirming under his gaze as Laurent had expected, his lips turned up into a smug grin. He leaned back in his chair and lifted his chin at Laurent. Laurent bit his lip in frustration and squared his shoulders. He refused to give in to this giant animal. He would look at that brute all night if he had to.  
Except it seemed the world had other plans. During their staring contest in which each were determined to not be the first to look away, someone had made their way up to the desk.  
“Excuse me?” a voice said.  
Laurent’s jaw clenched, yet he still stared at the man. The man cocked his head at Laurent, and finally he sighed in acceptance and turned to the person at his desk. “What?” he snapped.  
The person turned out to be an incompetent mother who couldn’t find a book for her son. While suppressing a roll of his eyes, Laurent helped her find a book, as for some reason she didn’t know how alphabetical order worked.  
When he returned to his desk, the man had turned his focus to studying, and Laurent suddenly felt like he had failed in his plan. Laurent wasn’t used to failure, and he sure as hell didn’t like it. However, he decided he’d had enough for the night, and he returned to his book.  
After some time had passed and Laurent had continuously watched the clock for closing time, he heard footsteps approach the desk. Preparing himself for another obnoxious mother, Laurent set down his book and looked up. Instead of a middle-aged woman, he found himself looking into brown eyes. “What do you want?” he said, consciously keeping his voice bored sounding.  
“I’m Damen,” said a deep voice, smooth as honey.  
Laurent took a deep breath. “I didn’t ask.”  
Amusement shone in his eyes as he asked, “What’s your name?”  
Silently, Laurent pointed at his nametag.  
Damen cocked an eyebrow, and Laurent held back a laugh. “If you can’t pronounce it correctly, then don’t say anything.”  
Damen bit his lip and glanced away from the tag.  
Laurent leaned back in his chair, quite amused with the turn their conversation had taken. “You have a nice night now, Damen.”  
Damen smirked and saluted him as he backed away from the desk. Laurent watched him retreat, and he was determined that he had won. 

 

Laurent was French, Damen decided. The name gave it away, but he had noticed a slight accent when Laurent had spoken to him. The way he said “Damen” had been smooth and gorgeous. Damen felt like his name had been ruined in all other accents.  
The next day was saturday, and the library closed earlier than usual. Damen had little studying he needed to do, yet he still found himself walking to the library after lunch. Instead of walking to his usual table, he headed straight for the front desk. Laurent again had his nose tucked in a book, resting his head on his fist. His shoulder-length hair was loose and tucked behind his ears. He looked up at Damen and immediately rolled his eyes.  
“Hello, Laurent,” Damen said.  
Laurent smiled, his eyes narrowed. “I see you googled my name.”  
“Can you speak French?”  
He cocked his head. “Je ne sais pas, puis-je?”  
Damen grinned. He loved Laurent like this. He was almost cat-like, and his eyes seemed as mischievous as one. “Say something else to me in French.”  
“Vous êtes un animal géant, Damen,” he said, his lips twitching.  
“I feel like that was an insult,” Damen said with a pout.  
Laurent shrugged. “Depends on what you’d consider an insult.” He looked Damen up and down. “What about you? Do you speak anything other than English?”  
He smirked. “If you’d call butchering a language speaking it, then yes. My parents are from Greece, but I’m far from a native speaker.” He tried to say hello in Greek, yet he knew his parents would shudder at the pronunciation. “Don’t even ask me how to spell it, though.”  
Laurent laughed quietly, and Damen felt enraptured by him. The way he laughed was adorable, his eyes crinkling in the corners and his lips curling up.  
“Would you like to know what I'm thinking?” Damien asked.  
One of Laurent’s eyebrows rose. “I'm not sure. Do I?”  
Ignoring Laurent’s taunt, he continued. “I'm thinking that you should get coffee with me.”  
“I'm working,” Laurent deadpanned.  
“Not now,” Damen said with a laugh. “What day are you free?”  
Damen pretended not to notice the way Laurent’s lips curled up at the ends. “Tomorrow, one PM.” With that, he opened his book again and signaled the end of the conversation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of doing a history project, I wrote this chapter. Procrastination can be useful for some things, right? Anyways, have I mentioned that Laurent and Damen invented love?   
> Enjoy the chapter!

Laurent spent the morning on the phone with Auguste, desperately trying to calm his racing heart.   
“Why did I even say yes?” he groaned, throwing another shirt onto his bed. “God, I’m an idiot.”  
“You’re not an idiot, Laurent.” Laurent could hear the smile in Auguste’s voice.   
“I obviously am, considering I said yes to a date with that brute. What was I thinking?”  
Auguste laughed. “You were thinking that this brute is actually attractive and someone you wouldn’t mind sucking face with.”  
“Ew,” Laurent said, scrunching up his face. “Never say that to me again.” He glanced at the time and swore. “I have to go. It’s almost one.”  
“Have fun! Be safe! Call me if you need it.”  
Laurent didn’t respond, hanging up and throwing the phone onto the pile of shirts instead. “Pull yourself together, Laurent,” he muttered to himself. He pushed away the invasive thoughts in his head telling him this was a bad idea and pulled on a turtleneck sweater. His hair was ruffled and his glasses nearly fell off, but something about the soft material slipping over his head calmed his nerves.   
He pulled on shoes and grabbed his phone from the bed, and he walked out the door. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d made a mistake, but he also couldn’t ignore the glimmer of anticipation in his heart that whispered he had made the furthest from a bad decision. 

 

Damen was petrified. His hands were sweating, and if he didn’t stop tapping his foot, he was worried it might fall off. He was outside Starbucks, and snow was starting to fall from the sky. Damen had been on plenty of dates before, of course, but he was rarely as nervous as he was at that moment.   
He spotted a blond head walking down the sidewalk towards him, and he desperately tried to look normal. He realized it was horrifically harder to look casual when one was consciously trying to do so. What was he supposed to do with his hands? Put them in his pockets? Cross them?  
No, definitely don’t cross them. That would just make him look like a fool. Making a fool out of himself was the last thing he wanted to do in front of the cute librarian getting closer to him with each passing moment.   
Laurent was feet away when he looked up, his eyes locking on Damen. “Oh!” he said, clearly startled. “Hi.” He rubbed his arm subconsciously, his bright blue eyes looking up at Damen through thick eyelashes.   
Damen grinned. “Hey there. How are you?”  
“Perfectly fine, thank you,” Laurent said, too formal for comfort.   
They went inside, their conversation short and awkward. Damen was cringing the entire time, and Laurent looked like he was ready to physically fight Damen when he paid for Laurent’s drink. They sat at a table in the corner, warm drinks in hand, and Damen kept sneaking glances at Laurent. The next time he looked up, he was caught by Laurent, whose eyebrow was raised in a question.   
“Are you normally this awkward?” Laurent asked.   
Damen’s face twisted. “No,” he admitted.   
Laurent’s lip quirked up in a smile. “So do I intimidate you?”  
“Maybe?”  
Laurent seemed pleased with this response, and he rested his head on his hand. “Tell me about yourself then, Damen.”   
Damen took a sip of his too hot drink and sputtered as it burned his tongue. Laurent watched him with amusement as he tried to get ahold of himself. “Well,” Damen finally said. “I’m in medical school at the moment, hoping to become a pediatric nurse after school.”  
Laurent seemed surprised. “You want to work with children?”  
Smiling, Damen nodded. “Of course. I love being around kids.”  
That hint of a smile that Laurent was prone to was back. “That’s sweet of you,” he said softly.   
Damen was sure Laurent was purposely trying to kill him. Laurent’s delicate words and smile were giving him heart palpitations. In a moment, he was likely to collapse to the floor, gasping for breath. Laurent would lean over him, asking how he could help, but that would only make it worse. Laurent would look like an angel above him, with light streaming around him like a halo and his hair falling in front of his face.   
Damen knew he had been in his fantasy for far too long when he noticed Laurent’s eyebrow arching up. Shit, Damen thought. What did he last say? Right, right, he mentioned how I’m sweet. No wonder I lost all consciousness there.  
“What about you?” Damen asked, his voice raw. “Is librarian your dream job?”  
Laurent frowned, and Damen regretted any words he said that caused a crease to form on Laurent’s forehead. “That’s a hard question to answer,” he said. “I always knew I wanted to work with books, so librarian seems a natural progression. But… my dream since I was a child was always to publish a book.”  
Damen perked up. “You’re a writer?”   
Laurent shrugged, his cheeks flushing an attractive pink. “I guess you could say that. I’m working on a few novels at the moment, but nothing good enough to publish.”  
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Damen said. Laurent rolled his eyes, but Damen pushed on. “What sort of things do you write?”  
He didn’t think it possible, but Laurent blushed even more. Damen’s thoughts couldn’t stop wandering to how far the flush traveled along his body.   
“It’s silly,” Laurent said, shaking his head.   
“I won’t find it silly,” Damen promised.   
He watched as Laurent closed his eyes, seemingly preparing himself for his admission. “Romance, mainly,” he muttered.   
Damen grinned. “I happen to love romance.”  
Laurent’s eyes rolled dramatically. “Of course you do, you brute.”  
“Oh, ‘brute’. I like it.” Damen smirked.   
The tips of Laurent’s ears were bright red; Damen was enjoying himself immensely. 

 

Laurent had a problem. And that problem’s name was Damianos. The giant had laughed, smiled, and listened to Laurent throughout the… date. Laurent even started to notice a dimple on his cheek. The audacity this Greek hunk had, causing Laurent to think such things. Those thoughts belonged in his novels, not in his real life.   
He also may have realized halfway through their date that Damen bore a striking resemblance to the character from Laurent’s current novel. That character too was tall, dark, and handsome, coming into a stern blond’s life and teaching him love and life. That was inconsequential, though. Laurent refused to consider it.   
Their date was coming to a close, as Laurent had to get to work by three. As they shuffled to the door, Laurent felt his heart pounding. It wasn’t fair, he thought. No man should be able to make Laurent feel as unsteady as he did from the hand lightly brushing the small of his back as Damen held the door open for him.   
They glanced at each other once outside. Laurent knew from the way Damen bit his lip that he was thinking over something in his head. Not to mention, Damen biting his lip was rather… distracting to Laurent.   
“Can I at least walk you to the library?” Damen finally said.   
It was hardly far, just a couple of blocks away, but Laurent found himself nodding anyways. He felt an absurd temptation to call in sick to work, instead spending the day with the man in front of him. An absolutely absurd thought.   
The only sound as they walked was their shoes crunching in the fresh snow. At one point, Laurent slipped on a patch of ice, and he would have fallen on his face if Damen hadn’t been there to steady him. The hand on his elbow made him feel dizzy, and he wanted to shout when Damen pulled it away.   
The library was in sight. Its old and crumbling brick walls were a familiar sight, but an unwelcome one at the moment. The two came to a stop, and Damen rubbed absentmindedly at the back of his neck.   
“We should do this again?” Damen said hesitantly, and it came out as a question.  
Laurent smiled. “Yes. We should.”   
Damen grinned, his dimple appearing, much to Laurent’s horror. He feared that dimple would cause him to do things he would regret. But at the moment, he felt extremely tempted to try those things anyway.   
They stood awkwardly, neither knowing what to do. Damen seemed about to take a step away, and Laurent sighed. Clearly, the brute wasn’t going to take initiative. Laurent didn’t like to take leaps, but kissing Damen was one leap he felt prepared to jump.   
Laurent grabbed Damen’s collar and pulled him down. Damen made a sound of surprise that turned into one of satisfaction when their lips met. It was soft and sweet, and Laurent feared his inexperience came through. Damen didn’t seem to have any objections though as he ran a hand through Laurent’s blond hair.   
They pulled apart far too soon, and Laurent’s wide eyes met Damen’s. “Was that okay?” Damen asked.   
“Of course it was, you brute. I’m the one who initiated it in the first place,” Laurent huffed.  
Before Laurent was tempted to capture Damen’s lips once more, he broke away and took a few steps back, catching himself as he stumbled. “When’s your next study session?” he asked.   
Damen grinned. “Tonight was the plan.”  
“Good,” Laurent said, trying and failing to hide his smile. “Come to my desk and I might have a phone number for you.”   
Damen said goodbye, laughing as Laurent practically sprinted to the library.   
When Laurent was inside, his cheeks and fingers warming up after being in the chill, he pulled out his phone.   
To Auguste: Update: no regrets.   
From Auguste: ooooooh get it little bro ;)


End file.
